Articles written in May, 2010

Does your Twitter stream need a bit of a boost? If so, you may consider adding some photos and video to your stream to make it a bit more fun, fresh or engaging. Adding photos to your stream can be a great way to show your followers where you are, or perhaps give them a view of what you’re looking at. In some instances, I have seen users give a sneak peek of products by using photos in Twitter. An easy service to use is www.twitpic.com. If you already have a Twitter username and password, then you already have a TwitPic account. With your same name, you can log into this service and post your pictures. When you upload your picture, you have the option to also add a description which will then be the Tweet.

If you are away from your computer, and you wish to upload a photo while on the go, you have a couple of options. You can email a photo by using the email address that TwitPic assigns to you, or you can use one of the many mobile applications that TwitPic has partnered with. The more common mobile applications include:

For those looking to add video to their stream, one service that can be use is www.twitvid.com. Like TwitPic, if you have a Twitter username and password, you already are able to log in to TwitVid. Once you log in you can upload video and attach a message that will go out with the Tweet.

Many third party tools and applications feature TwitVid, so it is easy to upload videos from anywhere.

When you add photos and videos to your stream, it gives your followers something new and fresh to look at. It shows that you are constantly looking for ways to engage them, and they will appreciate that.

It’s almost hard to imagine a world without social media networks like YouTube and Facebook. Many utilize these types of sites on a daily basis, but how are these outlets changing the world?

A short time ago, after the enormous success of her Superbowl commercial, fans of Betty White created a grassroots campaign on Facebook to have the 88 ½ year old Emmy Award-winning actress host NBC’sSaturday Night Live (SNL). The initiative was so widely popular that not only did NBC take notice and book White to host SNL, but it was the first time in the show’s history that social media helped influence the selection of a host.

Recent, a video emerged on YouTube of 12 year old Greyson Michael Chance playing piano and singing Lady Gaga’s ‘Paparazzi.’ The video was viewed over 18,000,000 times, and was also featured on many national news programs including ABC’sWorld News with Diane Sawyer. Ironically, Interscope Records, the same record label as Lady Gaga, saw Chance and offered the seventh grader a recording contract.

So you may be asking yourself, ‘what does all this have to do with my business?’ Since social media is putting more power in the hands (or fingertips) of the public, now is the time to use the suggestions, ideas and opinions of your customers to improve business. White and Chance are prime examples that popular demand cannot be ignored, especially when it comes to social media. Identifying trends within your social media channel can help you stay ahead of the competition. Who knows, maybe your business will discover the next Greyson Michael Chance of your industry.

Many of us have become well versed in the various social networks. Whether for fun or business, the amount of time spent on social networks continues to grow. Companies, both large and small, have gone from a slight toe dip in the water, to swimming laps in Olympic sized pools. Though the number of social media channels continues to grow, this blog post will focus solely on Twitter.

Twitter defines itself as “a real-time information network powered by people all around the world that lets you share and discover what’s happening now.” This translates into everyday people being able to “follow” their favorite actresses every move (no kidding, some celebrities have been known to tweet on a minute to minute basis) and keep anyone interested aware in real time of hunger pangs, the difficulty of a spinning class, getting cut off in traffic, that they are at Starbucks, where they are going to dinner, etc.
So I guess that’s considered some of the fun stuff Twitter is known for, but what about the business component?

For some organizations, Twitter has taken the term customer service to a whole new dimension. This goes beyond setting up a company page, which every business ought to do, by the way.

A friend of mine recently tweeted, Oh Zappos I hate you!!Why don’t you have my size?!?!?! Within 30 minutes, she was contacted (via Twitter of course) from @Zappos_Service with: Oh no! We want to help you find perfect shoes. What size/style were you interested in? Maybe we can find them elsewhere. This is a perfect example of a company that is truly on their A Game. Personally, I think Zappos rocks in every capacity, so it is not shocking that they are savvy in Social Media.

How did Zappos know that my friend was tweeting about them, when she does not follow their company? They more than likely have some sort of “Twitter Alerts” (think Google Alerts) in place to monitor what is being said, as well as to protect their brand. Tweet Beep and Tweet Alarm are two of the many services you can utilize for this effort.

It is safe to say that customer service as we once knew will soon become obsolete; the days of sitting on hold with a representative are numbered. We are a society that is consumed with instant gratification and Twitter and other social networks provide us with the immediate support we crave.